Ofeilia
This page is unfinished. Ofeilia is a country northeast of TSWCAtS, most of its civilians being merchants and nomads, often referred to as "gypsies", though some of these nomads find the term offensive as it has been used as a slur towards Ofeilians in the past, while most proudly embrace the title and find it as a source of empowerment. Ofeilia's form of government is monarchy, with the eldest male as the heir to the throne, unless the eldest female marries before her parents die or retire from the throne. Culture The Gypsies The gypsies of Ofeilia mainly make a living by traveling around in caravans - sometimes in their own country, sometimes all around the world, depending on what they're comfortable with and what they can afford - and selling or trading goods, performing various theatrical acts, dancing, singing, fortunetelling and performing "magic" tricks, and taking various jobs whenever they get the chance. Not everyone in Ofeilia is a gypsy, but the country definitely is known for their gypsies. Some civilians in Ofeilia, even though they aren't actual nomadic gypsies, just live in gypsy caravans because they're cheaper than most houses, though smaller. The gypsies of Ofeilia are generally very fond of music, dance, and theater, and host competitions for such in each town every month. Certain groups of gypsies also go from place to place to perform these things and entertain foreigners to earn money, as mentioned before. Singers in Ofeilia are particularly admired, especially those with extremely broad ranges. In Ofeilian society, sopranos - particularly coloratura sopranos - are the most prized female singers, while basses are the most prized male singers. More often than not, singers feel very pressured to fit into these extreme vocal ranges and try to force themselves to sing notes that they cannot feasibly sing. Prejudice The government in Ofeilia is notably very corrupt. King Auron - the current monarch - is rumored to be a mere figurehead. The society is harsh and prejudiced against practically anybody who doesn't completely live up to their standards of "normal". If you aren't male, white, straight, non-magical, fully human, rich, and don't experience gender dysphoria, you'll have quite a hard time amounting to much. Misogyny in particular is very prevalent and normalized - men are rarely punished for taking advantage of women, and sexual assault is often disregarded as something the victim brought upon herself. Women are not generally seen as much more than livestock or trophies, destined only to become housewives to powerful men and extend the family tree. They are expected to do whatever their husbands want them to, and if they do not oblige, it is seen as completely normal for them to be reprimanded cruelly (which would obviously be considered domestic violence anywhere else). Sometimes men even punish their wives for rebelling by raping them publicly. Women also often marry very young - sometimes as early as 14 and even 12 - and are very much pressured to conform to society's standards of beauty. They are often forced to use painful techniques to make themselves look decent for the men - they use extremely tight corsets to make their waists appear slimmer, painful undergarments to make their breasts appear perky, large amounts of makeup containing potentially lethal chemicals, and dangerous, haphazard medical procedures that are said to make them thinner (sometimes physicians insisting women ingest parasites). Pale skin is very much valued in Ofeilia, so women with illnesses such as anemia are often denied any sort of medical help because they're "too pretty" to be sick. It's also extremely common for Ofeilian women to starve themselves for long periods of time in hopes of fitting the ideal, even if they're already extremely thin and it'd be unhealthy to lose anymore weight. Sicknesses are often glorified as a way for women to lose weight, so often times women will intentionally make themselves ill in hopes of meeting society's standards. Most Ofeilian women have at least some sort of eating disorder, thanks to it being drilled into young girls' heads from a very early age that they need to look their best. In the poorest Ofeilian towns - particularly the small, miserable town of Opal - this sexism has even more dire manifestations. In theory, these atrocities are illegal in Ofeilia, but the lords of these towns abuse their power greatly and choose to overlook these crimes. Wives in these towns are bought from their fathers (or sometimes kidnapped from wealthy men), rather than married, making their role in society still more similar to livestock or dolls than human beings. This sort of "marriage" is sealed when the man rapes his "bride" in public, so the entire town could witness him stealing her virginity, which meant she belonged to him and nobody else could have her, as she was now his property. This also shamed the woman into never letting another man touch her again. Notes As this page is still in progress and the details are still being worked out, here are some sporadic, jumbled notes to give a jist of the lore. * Inspiration mainly from Italy and France rather than Romania. Some Romanian inspiration (I mean, come on, they’re gypsies), but predominantly Italian and French. ** The fashion has a vibe that can only be described as Mardi Gras meets Venice meets French Renaissance. *** Think Viola from Soul Calibur V. *** Beauty marks and white powder are kind of a big thing. ** Perhaps Ofeilia was divided into two different countries way back in the past, one with an Italian-esque culture, the other with a French-esque culture. When they merged, the ideas, beliefs, fashions, etc. sort of jumbled together into one thing. *** The Astre clan has a mostly French vibe since I suppose they were originally from a part of Ofeilia that resembled French culture and kept those traditions. **** Maybe the reason they Astre clan seem to be German is because the reason why the French and Italian-esque countries merged is because they were both conquered by someone from the equivalent of Germany. ***** Perhaps the reason why the Astre family is so well-off is because they’re direct descendants of this German conqueror. This would explain their wealth and authority. * Just like how the monarch of the country must take on the surname “Ofeilia” regardless of who they’re actually related to, the same applies to the lords of each city-state. ** For example, if somebody named “John Doe” became the lord of Opal, their name would have to become “John Opal”. * The lords of each city-state are essentially the real rulers of Ofeilia because of how they abuse their power, making the king a mere figurehead. ** The lords are almost always corrupt in some way. They are basically able to persecute whoever they please, as they know that the king will never inspect them, and they know that they can bribe and blackmail (and sometimes flat-out assassinate) anybody who dares try to speak up. *** This is one reason why bigotry is so prevalent. Hate crimes are extraordinarily easy to get away with as the lords (and the guards) themselves are also easily bribed into not reprimanding anyone. **** The guards are very, VERY racist and violent most of the time. They’ll basically apprehend anyone who’s part of a minority for the smallest, stupidest reasons. (see: police brutality) * Good doctors are very hard to find because of Ofeilia’s aversion to both science and magic. ** This is why the plague is still such a big problem, especially in Opal. ** Mental illness is seen as taboo. *** Children with learning disorders are thought of as stupid and lazy. *** People with schizophrenia are seen as demons who can see the “other side” rather than being mentally ill, and will often be executed. *** There is an “asylum” in Ofeilia, but it’s far from being a mental hospital. It’s much more like a prison for people thought to be insane (depressingly, yet not surprisingly, LGBT people are often sent here to be “cured”). **** The Ofeilian Asylum has "freak shows" each week, where people can pay to mock the insane. Category:Lore Category:Places